Senator Lugar to receive the Order of Liberty award from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

Professionals

Washington, D.C. - At the instruction of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, former Senator Richard Lugar will receive the Order of Liberty award at a ceremony at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington this evening.

The Order of Liberty award is the supreme order of Ukraine and was first awarded in 2008. According to the Embassy, it was established to "honor those who aimed their efforts at strengthening the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, consolidating Ukrainian society, developing democracy, advancing social, economic, and political reforms, and advocating for constitutional rights and individual liberties." There have been 50 recipients of the Order of Liberty, including Senator John McCain and former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.

Senator Lugar co-authored the Nunn-Lugar Program, which worked cooperatively with Ukraine, among many other countries, to safely secure and dismantle vulnerable stockpiles of weapons and materials of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. Learn more about Senator Lugar's continuing WMD non-proliferation efforts here.